-
Dec 3, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth |Chryssie Swarbrick |Sonia Mcdonald
It’s a little depressing when a brand you’ve trusted all your life turns its back on what made it great. I have no inside information on what caused it. But there’s strong feeling of a C-Something person in there who can’t resist the sweet taste of large labour cuts, enabled by shiny new tech. Like the sweet purple taste of Grimace Shake, there’s an upfront pleasure hit. But the jury is very much out on the long-term health effects.
-
Nov 4, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth
Did you know there’s a US presidential election this week? It’s a lesson for us business folk in the depressing simplicity of the purchase process. You’re probably thinking: how much more “drunk grandpa at Christmas dinner” can Donald J. Trump get before people stop voting for him? The answer is: plenty drunk Grandpa. Because a big chunk of voters don’t give it much thought at all. They have a lot to deal with. They’re working three jobs just to keep their family housed and fed.
-
Oct 28, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth
In the early years of our business, we battled for awareness that we even existed. That meant network-a-thons at the annual industry trade show. Long days finished with late nights in the laneway bars of Melbourne. Gangs of event industry folk would kick on in cooler night hideaways than we’d find in our hometowns. The handsome, square-jawed ex-military motivational speaker was always at the centre of the action.
-
Oct 21, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth
I write often about the joys of having your own business, and there are many. It’s not all tax-free electric company cars and Pol Roger Winston Churchill champagne though. There are downsides, like spending money on things you hate with the burning intensity of a thousand suns. You have to spend money to make money, as the ol’ saying goes. Paying bills is an inescapable part of business, and you can use it to your advantage if you have your cash flow under control.
-
Jul 21, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth
A depressing thing about Chat GPT is when various readers generate something “in the style of writer Ian Whitworth”. Because it always uses a Barefoot Investor tone. “G’day fellow biz operator! I got home the other night, put the trusty Hilux in the back paddock, and as I was coming through the door I heard a shrieking sound like a possum caught in a rusty gate hinge. Entering the lounge room I realised that noise wasn’t any kind of marsupial.
-
Jul 15, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth
Winning work is getting trickier right now as the economy slows. Here’s a thought to help your win rate: speed up your quoting process. Sorry, it’s a low-entertainment story. But relevant if you want money. I just went through a purchase process for a $25,000 personal project at home. I approached three suppliers. One never turned up. One seemed good, we had a long conversation about the details of the project and he promised a quote. The third option also seemed good, and sent a quote within a week.
-
Feb 13, 2024 | 
smartcompany.com.au | Ian Whitworth
This column is about how a plucky local iced coffee beat the biggest beverage brand in the world. We’ll come back to that shortly, but first some background. It’s nice to have a nine-word business rule that delivers the right answer in every situation. Ours may not work for you. For us, that rule opens up clear lessons for every decision. Seared in by an intense period of frustration and pain. We set up our place after an unpleasant few years as employees in a firm with private equity owners.
-
Nov 13, 2023 | 
smartcompany.com.au | KPI Checklists |Ian Whitworth
I’m generally a fan of being supportive with suppliers. It’s good for your business. So it’s annoying when they’ve been useful for a long time, then they randomly turn useless, greedy or both. There’s a line they cross where they must sleep with the fishes. I reached that moment with email platform Mailchimp last month. I mentioned it in my weekly email, and I’ve never had a response like it. A surge of messages from people who have had it with that monkey’s antics.
-
Nov 8, 2023 | 
australiannationalreview.com | Ian Whitworth
How Airbnb is Killing Aussie Fish and Chip ShopsBy IAN WHITWORTHStarting your own business is a journey fuelled by vivid hopes and dreams. I love to hear about them. I hear family-transforming stories and inspiring escapes from the corporate hamster wheel. I also hear ones that are pretty depressing. A couple I know decided to bet everything on a small business. In their late 40s, they bought a fish and chip shop in an adorable seaside town. It ticked all the growth-potential boxes.
-
Nov 6, 2023 | 
smartcompany.com.au | KPI Checklists |Ian Whitworth
Starting your own business is a journey fuelled by vivid hopes and dreams. I love to hear about them. I hear family-transforming stories and inspiring escapes from the corporate hamster wheel. I also hear ones that are pretty depressing. A couple I know decided to bet everything on a small business. In their late 40s, they bought a fish and chip shop in an adorable seaside town. It ticked all the growth-potential boxes.
